Critical appreciation of “The Arrival of BEE BOX”
INTRODUCTION ;
The poem “The arrival of The Bee box” was written in 1962. Although it is a very complex poem, yet it has a simple origin i-e recalling a personal incident when a bee box arrived. This poem is notable for Plath’s typical depressed state of mind. In this poem, Plath’s explores the complex feelings of power and powerlessness associated with beekeeping. Her anxiety and indecisiveness seem to be symptomatic of her depression at the time.
"The arrival of The Bee box" can be read on two different levels, the literal and the metaphorical. On a simple level, it seems to be about Plath's reaction to the delivery of a bee box because she is merely concerned and anxious about how to deal with the Swarm of bees in The Bee box. On a deeper level, the box can be regarded as a symbol of her unhappy inner thoughts and feelings. The bees symbolize the poet's unconscious self which Seeks freedom.
Sylvia Plath probably is in search of her true self. In spite of being the owner of The Bee box, she oscillates between the positions of master and slave, oppressor and victim.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS;
The first stanza begins with Plath trying to gain power over the Bee- box that has been delivered to her house. She claims that she is the one that ordered for the box to be sent to her house, claiming that this fact give her power over the creatures within.
“I ordered this, clean wood box"
She talks about the box in positive terms in this poem by trying to believe herself that the box really is not as threatening as she is making it out to be. However, these positive terms soon canceled by the strange imagery she used to describe the box.
"Coffin of a midget or a square baby"
Here the word coffin is related to death. She loved her husband so much she doesn't want to live without him. But he left her with two kids for someone else. Now she can't manage her life without him. She is broken from the inside. The overall description of The Bee box is strange and disturbing.
In the second stanza there is a sense of Entrapment.
"The Bee box is locked, it is still dangerous"
First, she shows her authority over the box but in the second stanza, she highlights the Dark Side of the box. There is a change in her from powerful to powerless in just 3 words,
"It is dangerous"
While thinking about authority she cannot stop herself to think about the Swarm of bees inside the box. She is afraid of them. But there is no way for her to be free from her negative thoughts.
"I have to live with it overnight and I cannot keep away from it"
These words show her fear on the upper level but on a deeper level, these words describe the Plath's emotions that neither she can live with her husband, nor she can keep herself away from him. She loved her husband so much she cannot live without him, but he left her. There is no way to bring him back. He does not want to live with her anymore because he now loves someone else.
Plath trying to look into the hive to see the swarming bees but all she can see is only the darkness. Plath depression is dangerous and very serious there is no way for her to escape from her thoughts, from her torture. She has to live with her depression, she has to deal with it. There are so many thoughts swarming in her head and she is unable to tackle her circumstances.
The third stanza also describes her state of mind and there is also a theme of imprisonment. The Bees have been imprisoned inside The Bee box just like the Africans slaves packed in a small place in a ship.
"I put my eye to the grid..... Black on black, angrily clambering"
Sylvia Plath is being imprisoned in her thought she wants to escape from her worries from her thoughts and from her dull life.
"Black on black angrily clambering" portrays a deathly scene where everything is dark and the bees are climbing on one another awkwardly producing a lot of noise, a lot of disturbance.
In the fourth stanza Sylvia Plath if frustrated by the unpleasant sound of bees. The reason for being worrying is that she is an ability to understand the continuous buzzing of bees. Here she compares the Bees with the Roman soldiers.
"It is like a Roman mob...... But my God, together!"
She compares bees with Roman soldiers, Roman soldiers are weak and can easily be defeated. But when attacking in there swarm, they are unbeatable. She tries to say that she has no problem in hearing a single buzz but if there are so many they can't understand.
Sylvia Plath is a confessional poet. In the fifth stanza, she repeated the word “I” 3 times which symbolizes the dominance of Plath to the bees. Plath tries once more to understand the bees, But she feels that they were talking in an old foreign language. The language of the bees is described as "furious latin"
"I have simply ordered a box of maniacs"
She is frustrated by the noise, she decides that the bees are simply a box of maniacs and that is the reason she cannot understand them. She blames herself for ordering this box. She tries to reclaim power over the bees deciding that if she does not want them she can simply be sent them back, or just not feed them and allow all of them to die out. She feels her authority, she feels the ownership over them, if she does not feed them nobody has right to interfere in her dominance over the bees.
In the Sixth stanza poetess anger to the bees sets down as she had thought of giving The Bee a second chance and setting them free. She would like to stand apart like an Emotionless tree so that if she set them free they would not attack her. In the fifth stanza poetess comes up with the solutions and conclusion but despite these, she seems unable to distract her thoughts from the bees.
She begins to wonder how hungry they are, before considering simply letting them go.
“I wonder how hungry they are…”
The poetess wonders if she frees them they simply Fly Away without bothering her. Poetess seems to have a morbid fascination with her own illness. She wonders if there would be any harm in giving a voice to some of her thoughts rather than leaving them to Swarm inside her head. She shows a certain will to change, thinking that maybe if she could transform herself.
In the last stanza, poetess continues to consider the freeing of the bees as her first option of survival, claiming that if she were to free them, they might ignore her, because she is wearing her protective suit as she calls it her moon suit and funeral veil. She reasons that she is not a source of honey for them, there is no reason for them to attack her it would be of no benefit to them. Finally, she decides to free them ;
“Tomorrow I will be sweet God, I will set them free”
The poetess does not think that she is something special, so she wonders why she is plagued by these thoughts. It is not fair that some people are able to live a happy normal life while she is made to suffer. She decides that tomorrow she is going to confront her illness, but is also putting it off until then, as she does not feel ready.
The very last line of the poem,
" the box is only temporary"
Tell us that the wooden box was just a temporary home for the bees, soon she will let them out to be free in the world. Perhaps this line referred to her suicide attempt because in that case, she would set herself free of all cares and worries of life.
Themes:
The poet portrays her various personality traits;
Her emotions are complex feeling both dread and fascination at one time. Her nerves are at her and she cannot bear noise.
There is a theme of death, the theme of imprisonment, the theme of pessimism, the theme of imperialism, inner conflict.
Conclusion;
The arrival of The Bee box is a brilliant example of the poetry by Sylvia Plath, with the use of many literary techniques. In a metaphorical sense, the Bee box can be compared to Plath's head at the time: A dark, scary place.
The strange, morbid images of coffins and Square babies hint to just how ill she was at the time, while the din at the Bees could suggest the voices inside her head.
The underlying meaning of the poem arouses The Reader to wonder whether death is the only hope left in Plath's heart. Plath cannot rely on procrastination to save her from what lies inside of the box.
“Man produces evil as a bee produces honey”
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